The subjoined letter is from a clergyman of the Church of England;
I publish it with his permission, advising him at the same time to
withhold his name, as the arguments he has brought forward are those
which would generally occur to a mind ecclesiastically trained:--
10th September, 1872.
Sir,--At page 15 of the 21st letter of your 'Fors Clavigera' you tell
the working men and labourers of this country that "lending for gain
is sinful;" and you intimate, as I gather, that this is the teaching of
the Bible. May I, therefore, be allowed to submit that this unqualified
assertion, with its world-wide consequences, is not true?
In Deut. xxiii. 20, you will find these words: "Unto a stranger
thou mayest lend upon usury." And the margin (a), for the scope and
meaning of this word "stranger," refers you to Deut. x. 19, which says,
"Love ye therefore the stranger." And the margin (b) refers us also
to Lev. xix. 35, which enjoins us to "love the stranger" as ourselves.